The thought made her wolf growl low in her breast. “I don’t want you smooth with the ladies.”
He blinked at her before looking back at the road. “Damn. I think you just growled at me. Hey, no problem, honey. Point taken. I’m a one-woman wolf.” He grabbed her jean-clad thigh and squeezed. “But the same goes for you. No alpha wolf or any other wolf in your future. No man, period.”
She sighed. “Honestly, Monty. You don’t have to worry about that. They only ever wanted me because I’m wolf, anyway.”
“You keep telling yourself that. Yeah. You’re stone ugly and have a body like a Mack truck. And you smell terrible, not like fresh lilies at all.” He shook his head. “So sad that I’m stuck with such an ugly mate, but what can I do? I feel so sorry for you.”
“Oh stop it.” He could make her feel so good without even trying. She blushed, pleased he liked the look and smell of her. She never would have imagined how important scent would be, but she lived with the knowledge that scent meant everything to her wolf.
The truck turned off onto a dirt road, and they drove half a mile before coming upon a large main house surrounded by flowers and landscaped shrubbery. Joel and Maggie kept the place in top shape. Burke ran Chastell Tours from the main house and maintained order at the pride. His brothers worked for the touring company with Monty, while Rachel worked for herself doing Internet stuff Sophie didn’t understand. The foxes and cats also living at the Catamount Ranch all did their own thing. Everyone pulled their fair share and seemed to like living together. Several individual cabins beyond the main house showed the growing pride.
“My place is back behind the house. I’ll show you my big old bed later.” He parked the truck and wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Come on. Everyone’s dying to tease me about you. Just remember, they’re family. So if I kick the shit—ah, crap out of Dean or Grady, just go with it.”
“Okay.” She left the truck with him and accepted the hand he held out to her. “But no mention of Scooby, right?”
“I hate that friggin’ mutt. No Mystery Machine, Scooby Doo, or other cartoon canine references. Remember, Sophie. We’re wolves, the cream of the crop. The cats just think they own the world. We actually run things.”
“And the foxes, what about us?” came a voice from behind them.
Sophie turned to see Sheriff Ty Roderick, Julia’s husband, standing with his arms crossed over his chest and his lips quirked in amusement.
“You’re the tiny predators we pity, because your brains are barely larger than your tails.”
“Not bad, wolf. You’re managing your insults better. Not great, but better.” Ty tipped his Stetson at Sophie. “Howdy, sweet thing.” He somehow managed to get between Monty and Sophie and escorted her inside the house. She heard Monty muttering obscenities behind him.
Ty stepped with her into the open living room and said in a booming voice, “Sophie’s here.”
Everyone rushed into the living room at once, and Sophie gripped Ty’s arm.
“It’s okay,” he murmured, but then Monty was there, sheltering her in his strong arms.
She felt like an idiot for being afraid. Julia was her best friend, Gabby too. These cats and foxes and bears were Monty’s family. But she’d never liked being crowded, and she still couldn’t be around too many men at one time without tensing.
The things her cousins and their friends had liked to do when her uncle was away… She’d never been a fan of sex before Monty, and she had plenty of reason to dislike what she’d witnessed.
Burke shoved the others out of the way and smiled wide. “Well, now. Sophie. How are you?” He pulled her with him toward the center couch and took the glass of wine Rachel handed him without breaking stride. “This is for you. Julia said you like a good Zinfandel.”
She blinked. “Um, thanks.” She glanced around and saw Monty trying to push his way past the congratulations of Joel, Grady and Dean.
Monty forcibly shoved Dean aside and glared. But when his gaze met hers, he rolled his eyes. “Welcome to the nuthouse. Hey Gabby, grab me a beer, would you? A large one.”
Chapter Six
Monty did his best not to growl every time one of his dickhead pridemates touched his mate. The cats had become touchy-feely all of a sudden, and the females acted no better. The cats questioned her like it was the inquisition, although he now knew a helluva lot more about his pretty little mate than he had before. The important things he’d always known, but the minutiae had escaped him.
They sat around the large dining table, feasting on chicken. Yard bird. Eh. He preferred a good rare steak. He smiled, realizing Sophie did too. He knew enough about her, and he liked their similarities. Hell, right now he could tell she’d rather be anywhere but here. Just like him. Yet another thing they had in common.
“I still don’t understand how you can live in that great big house. You say your alpha’s brother owns it?” Stacey had no problem asking nosy questions.
Dean winked at him.
“Um, yeah.” Sophie snuck a glance at him before turning her attention back to Stacey. “Theo kind of introduced me to Cougar Falls. He actually owns the grocery store, but he’s never in town, so he told me I could run it if I wanted.” She shrugged and stuck her fork into a hunk of chicken. “I like it.”
Stacey raised a perfect blond brow. “Really? The local grocery store?”
Monty didn’t like her tone, and then Gabby stepped in. “I like it too. It has a homey, small-town feel, and if you think about it, without the town store, we’d have to shop in Whitefish for supplies.”
The women shivered.
“What’s wrong with Whitefish?” Burke sounded offended. “Chastell Tours is there.”
“Yes, dear, it is.” Rachel’s wifely tone made Sophie smile.
Monty smiled with her.
“Rachel…” Burke frowned at her. “You can’t use being pregnant as an excuse to be snarky forever.”
Ty leaned toward Sophie and whispered in a loud voice, “Snarky. I taught him that. Big word for a little brain, you know.”
Sophie enjoyed the interplay until Burke shot Ty a glare, and she automatically tensed when the pride leader growled, “Keep it up and I’ll use your bones for toothpicks, fox.” Burke’s scowl unnerved her, but she felt Monty’s hand on her leg under the table and eased.
God, I am such a moron. Relax, damn it!
The others didn’t seem to notice her distress, and the remainder of the dinner focused on the other members of the pride, enough that she finally felt like one of the crowd instead of the main attraction. Quiet Joel started talking about his vegetables and didn’t stop. He’d just gathered beets, broccoli and cabbage and anticipated a heaping of carrots in another week or so. The man had shoulders as big as a football field, but whenever he glanced at his wife, his entire mien softened.
Sophie liked him instinctively. Though she’d been to the pride often enough, she normally spent her time with her fox friends at their respective cabins. A few movie nights at the house had been spent with other women. This huge dinner with everyone was a first for her, and it definitely showed her who was who.
Ty played peacemaker throughout the meal, at times baiting and at other times easing tempers while Julia encouraged him. Sly foxes. Gabby and Grady spent most of their time staring at each other, the newly mated couple still enrapt in each other. For all that Dean and Stacey had just committed to each other, the pair acted like an old married couple that had that sexual spark zinging between them. She found them amusing, though she kept a slight distance from Stacey. Sophie could clearly see the predator in the blonde’s cool blue eyes.